Trump’s budget cuts likely to have dire impact on US transit projects
By
Alan Whyte
10 April 2017
President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget includes draconian cuts to federal funding for various transit projects, called New Starts grants. Under terms of the proposal the US Department of Transportation would see its funding immediately reduced by 13 percent, or $2.4 billion.
The cuts would impact a major project costing $7.7 billion to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, as well as necessary repairs to the current tunnel used by both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The project includes expanding the Pennsylvania Station in New York City that is used by Amtrak NJ Transit and the Long Island railroads at a cost of $5.9 billion. These are part of a host of approved plans called the Gateway project with a total estimated cost pegged at $23.9 billion.
The cuts would also impact already planned projects in New York City, such as the building of a Second Avenue line extension in the borough of Manhattan, which is expected to cost $6 billion, with officials having hoped to get $2 billion in federal funding.
In California, a planned train line between San Jose and Santa Clara, with a projected cost of $4.8 billion, is now also threatened.
Endangered projects include a subway extension in Los Angeles, a light rail plan in Maryland, and a rapid transit bus line in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as other projects in Phoenix, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Jacksonville, Florida.
According to a recent analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), mass transit, which includes buses, subway and light rail, received a report card rating of D-. The ASCE states, “Despite increasing demand, the…